“The relevance of the Word of God today, in a socially, economically, politically and culturally convulsed world, needs to be reconstructed from an alternative reading and with a spirit willing to be open to experience,” said renowned Nicaraguan evangelical (Protestant) theologian the Rev. Alberto Araica during a discussion on the occasion of the National Day of the Bible here Sept. 30.
The discussion in Nicaragua’s capital city centered around the theme, “The relevance of the Word of God in a globalized world.”
“We need to realize that it is necessary to keep greater silence when it is time to learn …
Mary Batchelor Seel, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) medical missionary in Korea for 37 years, died on her 84th birthday, Sept. 28, in Birmingham, Ala.
Born in Whitmire, S.C., and raised in Orlando, Fla., “Mimi” Seel was the daughter of one-time Stillman College President Alex R. Batchelor, from whom she inherited a special heart for young people. She graduated from PC(USA)-related Maryville (Tenn.) College before marrying Dr. David Seel in 1949. After completing his surgical residency training in New Orleans, David and Mimi embarked to Korea, where they served at Presbyterian Medical Center.
Innovative and imaginative, Mimi Seel created the …
RICHMOND, Va. — The Rev. Thomas White Currie, Jr. — a 1958 graduate of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and the father of Thomas W. Currie, the dean of the Charlotte campus of Union-PSCE — has bequeathed a gift of $639,000 to the seminary through the Texas Presbyterian Foundation.
The purpose of his gift is to support theological education at the Charlotte campus in three ways:
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories about congregations engaged in significant outreach and evangelism ministries, reflecting the General Assembly’s commitment to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide.” — Jerry L. Van Marter
“Well, the pay is a little less.”
The Rev. Trey Little is laughing out loud at the question: What has it been like going from senior vice president of a big Houston investment firm to pastor of a small Presbyterian Church in a tiny town in Texas?
“The first Sunday I preached there were 25 people in worship, and 50 members,” says …
With the fall CROP Walk season — sponsored by Church World Service (CWS) and its member denominations — in full swing and World Food Day approaching on Oct. 16, renowned Presbyterian hymn writer Caroloyn Winfrey Gillette has penned a new hymn for use by participants.
Entitled “O God, You Send Us Out to Walk,” Gillette’s new hymn is subtitled “A Hymn of Dedication for Those Participating in CROP Walks.” It has been posted on the CWS Web site.
In addition to combating hunger — Presbyterians have long been among the most active participants in the annual CROP Walks around …
The Rev. Philip W. Butin has resigned as president of San Francisco Theological Seminary, effective Jan. 31, 2010, to return to pastoral ministry.
Prior to coming to the seminary in 2002, Butin was pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, N.M.
“I will always be deeply grateful for my years of service to SFTS,” Butin said in an Oct. 5 announcing his decision. “God has enabled us to accomplish a great deal together. SFTS has a bright future as it continues to clarify and pursue its unique identity and mission in a time of rapid change …
The National Committee on the Self-Development of People of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has approved grants totaling $142,948 to seven self-help projects in the United States.
Money for the grants comes from the PC(USA)’s One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering.
SDOP, funded primarily through the OGHS offering, enables members and non-members of the PC (USA) to establish partnerships with economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people in order to help them achieve sufficiency.
Grants were approved at a meeting of SDOP’s National Committee Sept. 19 in Seattle.
Projects funded range from helping a farmer’s cooperative purchase watering equipment and start-up …
ATLANTA — Agnes Scott College has submitted a comprehensive, long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP) as part of a commitment made with about 650 other colleges and universities across the country to reduce their impact on the environment. Agnes Scott’s CAP outlines strategies and 5-year targets designed to achieve “climate neutrality” by around 2037.
As part of its commitment to climate change, Agnes Scott also has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by about 6 percent since the college documented its baseline greenhouse gas inventory in 2008. The college achieved energy savings through setting standard building temperatures during operating hours, minimizing building …
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), is responding to a series of deadly disasters in south Asia — a typhoon in the Philippines, an earthquake in Indonesia, and a tsunami that has affected Somoa, American Samoa and Tonga.
Church leaders — General Assembly Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow, General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons and General Assembly Mission Council Executive Director Linda Valentine — issued a letter late last week calling on Presbyterians to pray for those affected by the disasters and asking them to support PDA’s long-term relief efforts in the stricken areas.
PDA is also responding the …
Margaret Flory, a visionary Presbyterian leader who created a number of seminal programs that connected Christians around the world with each other, died Oct. 1 in Asheville, N.C. She was 95.
During her 36 years on the national staff of the former United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Flory created such programs as Junior Year Abroad for college students; Frontier Interns, which sent Presbyterian mission workers to unreached corners of the globe; a similar ecumenical program, Frontiers in Mission, which still operates out of Geneva, Switzerland; the Overseas Scholarship Program, which brought overseas teachers and pastors to the U.S. for …